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Police not ruling out abuse of found boy; stepmom held

DETROIT — The stepmother of a 12-year-old boy — who was found alive in the basement of his east-side Detroit home 11 days after he vanished — was taken into custody on a warrant issued for a probation violation, police said.

This story is part of the series USA NOW

Police not ruling out abuse of found boy; stepmom held

Nancy Grace informed a dad on live TV that his son had been found alive in his own basement after being missing for nearly two weeks. He was hidden behind a makeshift barrier that police don't believe he made himself.
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DETROIT — The stepmother of a 12-year-old boy — who was found alive in the basement of his east-side Detroit home 11 days after he vanished — was taken into custody on a warrant issued for a probation violation, police said.

Meanwhile, police continue to investigate Charlie Bothuell V's case, focusing on whether he was abused. Police said they have not ruled out the possibility of abuse.

Police have said evidence, including a PVC pipe, has been collected.

A person familiar with the investigation said the pipe was reportedly used to discipline the child. Blood was found on the child's clothing in the house, but it is uncertain whose blood it is, the source said.

Police are working with the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office and will be in touch with the Department of Human Services and other agencies.

Charlie is now staying with his mother and other relatives in Detroit.

His father and stepmother —Charlie Bothuell IV and Monique Dillard-Bothuell — have come under increased scrutiny since 12-year-old Charlie, missing since June 14, was found Wednesday in the basement of their home while police executed a search warrant.

Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, said the office has not received a warrant request in Charlie's case; Detroit police said a warrant request could be turned over within the next couple of days.

Dillard-Bothuell's two children have been taken into custody by Children's Protective Services, Detroit police spokesman Michael Woody said.

She is on probation for a weapons offense, records show.

According to Wayne County Circuit Court records, Dillard-Bothuell was charged in 2013 with carrying a concealed weapon.

According to a police report, obtained by the Detroit Free Press, Dillard-Bothuell got a flat tire on May 19, 2013. When a Michigan State Police trooper offered assistance, she provided him with her expired concealed pistol license, told him she was in possession of a pistol, and was arrested, the report says.

In January this year she pleaded guilty to obtaining a pistol without a license, the concealed weapons charge was dismissed and she was given two years of probation, records show.

“It was somewhat staged, but ... you could tell he was there for a short while.”

Sgt. Michael Woody, Detroit Police spokesman

On the order of probation, it says Dillard-Bothuell, "may not own use or possess a firearm."

On Monday, a bench warrant was issued for Dillard-Bothuell for violating her probation after a handgun was found in her home while police executed a search warrant.

According to court records, police recovered the gun while Dillard-Bothuell was present.

Woody said the investigation is continuing.

Police found Charlie concealed by a makeshift barricade, crouched behind a large container, Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Wednesday. He said police had searched the home several times before the one conducted Wednesday.

Woody said Thursday that Charlie had been in another location during earlier searches of the house. Police would have discovered Charlie otherwise, he said. Woody described the area in which the boy was found as a small mechanical room. Police found the boy Wednesday behind a large container with some food, including cereal and pop bottles.

"It was somewhat staged, but ... you could tell he was there for a short while," Woody said. "It wasn't any grand, elaborate setup."

Woody said that when he was found, Charlie was wearing the same clothes he'd had on when he disappeared. On Wednesday, Craig said Charlie was happy to see police.

Police said Charlie's condition is good and he has been talking to them.

"He was in a hospital this morning. He is being closely monitored by us," Woody said Thursday.

A woman leaving the mother's house Thursday afternoon said police told the family not to speak with reporters but said the boy is fine and with his family before she drove away.

The saga of a family searching for a missing child took an abrupt and bizarre turn Wednesday. Craig held a news conference to announce that police were not ruling out the possibility of homicide in the case followed hours later with news that the boy had been found alive.

Charlie Bothuell V, 12, of Detroit had been missing since June 14 before he was found alive June 25 in his basement.(Photo: Detroit Police Department)

As Craig was making the announcement, Charlie's father, Charlie Bothuel IV, learned the news from cable TV show host Nancy Grace on live television. He left the interview and rushed to his home, where video images showed him collapsing in the arms of WDIV-TV reporter Guy Gordon after learning the good news.

Bothuell was adamant that he did not know his son was in the basement and said "there was no abuse of my son."

Mark Magidson, Bothuell's lawyer, said it "defies logic" that the many searches failed to uncover Charlie.

"If that child was down there, they would have found him," Magidson said.

Magidson noted that there is an underground hallway that connects the basements of the various units in the complex, part of the Mies van der Rohe townhouses, a collection of modernist structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Residents call the hallway a tunnel and keep their garbage and other items in that area. There is a door on the far end from Bothuell's house that leads outside, although a neighbor noted Thursday that the door has an alarm.

Bothuell has yet to see his son and was unable to travel to the hospital while the boy was there because authorities had seized his car and his computers, Magidson said.

"He tried to see his son shortly after he was found. They said no," Magidson said. "I told him, 'You have an absolute right to see your son.' "

According to Bothuell, Charlie had been homeschooled for the last couple of years after some early struggles. However, recent discussions, apparently upsetting to Charlie, had focused on moving to the suburbs and enrolling Charlie in school there. Magidson said Charlie had been told that if he failed to do well he could be enrolled in military school.

Bothuell, who said he's a registered nurse and runs a company based in Southfield, Mich., did not return a call seeking comment Thursday. He had earlier criticized police for their initial reaction to the case and their treatment of him and his family. He offered to take a public lie-detector test.

The boy left his home about 9 p.m. ET June 14 after the boy's stepmother had a discussion with him over unfinished chores. The boy was in the middle of a workout when he left. The search began that night.